The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1800 - 61: The Victory of Youth

Tonight, the Celtics can be said to be fully prepared.

Before Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals began, Beelman devoted all his energy to the pre-game preparation against the Trail Blazers.

As for the Lakers? Beelman doesn't believe the Lakers can defeat the Trail Blazers in Game 7, let alone beat Gan.

In Beelman's view, the only person in the league who can lead a team to defeat the Trail Blazers is him; no one understands Gan better than he does.

Leaving aside the issues of detail, Beelman laid out so many things that, although not perfect, he has used all his lifelong experience and capability to take on his most favored student.

In terms of the team's overall strategy, Beelman, besides asking the players to adhere to Forrest Gump's Law, proposed a more important approach, which is "passive offense and defense."

Beelman went against the norm; other teams tried every means to take the initiative, regardless of who the opponent was, determined to take the offensive and control the tempo.

But Beelman insisted that the players should react later, not actively seize the advantage, but rather play Tai Chi against the Trail Blazers, let the Trail Blazers make their move first, and then respond.

So the entire first half, the Celtics were waiting passively for the Trail Blazers to make their move; they had no intention of taking initiative on offense or defense, fully focused on responding to each move.

When the Trail Blazers played set offense, the Celtics responded in kind. If they couldn't score, they'd find a way to counterattack quickly, but never rushed the tempo.

When the Trail Blazers pushed the offense, utilizing Gan and Kobe as strong points for isolation plays, they let the two of them play, maintaining defensive formation without disorder.

Having coached Gan for many years, Beelman knew well that Gan is the most formidable hunter on the basketball court; the more proactive you are, the more flaws he can find.

On the contrary, changing nothing in response to everything, not moving unless the enemy moves, building strong defenses and battling stolidly, this is Beelman's best strategy against the Portland Iron Cavalry.

While this approach seems passive, even though the Celtics are so young and playing old-fashionedly raises criticism, this is indeed the most reasonable choice to deal with the Trail Blazers and Gan.

If it were the 1998 Trail Blazers, such rigid tactics by the Celtics would be pierced through by the sharp three-pointers of the Trail Blazers, forcing Beelman to adjust tactics by halftime.

But now, the Trail Blazers no longer possess the same precision from the outside as in 1998; the team as a whole has aged, with players' fitness and detail declining significantly, leading to a higher mistake rate.

Therefore, what the Celtics need to do is strengthen their defense, construct a firm fortification, rely on Duncan's influence in the Three Second Zone, avoid rash offense, and slowly exhaust the Trail Blazers.

Let the Trail Blazers make the moves; they are already exhausted, and breaking through this fortress is indeed not easy.

During halftime, Rick Carlisle made strategic shifts, deciding to increase Charles Barkley's role in the second half, using him as a battering ram to break the Celtics' fortification.

Gan did not quite agree with Carlisle's setup, not because he doubted Barkley's ability, but because he believed the Celtics' defense was not merely a turtle shell.

"While emphasizing offense, we must also prepare well for defense," Gan reminded Carlisle.

However, Gan did not veto Carlisle's substitution plan, as he himself wasn't sure how to counter this rigid defensive strategy by the Celtics.

It must be acknowledged, Beelman's tactic currently seems effective, against Gan's highly aggressive hunter-style offense, showing no flaws and slowly exhausting them, targeting their generally average stamina, is a good approach.

Indeed, the Trail Blazers have seen their peak and have declined, and Gan's condition tonight is noticeably average.

After the third period began, the Celtics maintained their stable stance, Duncan was almost like a younger version of Gan, ensuring a robust defense under the basket for the Celtics.

Brellock, Kobe, and Little O'Neal attempted multiple drives to the basket for damage, all neutralized by Duncan's defense.

Moreover, Duncan is similar to the younger Gan in one aspect; he often secures ball possession after a successful defense, preventing opponents from obtaining second chance opportunities.

Once the Trail Blazers failed to score, Steve Nash would initiate a quick counterattack, yet his counterattack was never reckless but highly restrained.

Half of the time, it converted into a set offense, and Nash's passing is extremely aggressive; unlike Jide, he excels at putting the ball straight into the opponent's heart, rather than organizing the first pass.

Moreover, Nash's offensive aggressiveness is also higher; his shooting is more accurate than Jide's, with outstanding long-range capability.

In this regard, Nash is very similar to his Gonzaga senior Stockton during college.

During college, Stockton bore much greater offensive pressure than after entering the NBA.

Therefore, during the Gonzaga period, Stockton had to handle a lot of shooting rights on the offense.

Although Nash cannot compare defensively to Stockton, his attitude is commendable, and the Celtics adopt a typical loose perimeter and tight interior defense; Nash's defensive lapses aren't a major issue.

So five minutes into the third period, the situation is surprisingly unchanged from the first half.

Although Gan consecutively scored against Duncan in the low post, proving this power forward still has exceptional capability.

However, the Trail Blazers couldn't restrain the Celtics' offense on defense—the Celtics' young players seized opportunities very well several times.